Date of Graduation

5-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences

Advisor/Mentor

Brye, Kristofor R.

Committee Member

Wood, Lisa S.

Second Committee Member

Miller, Dave

Abstract

Long-term agricultural sustainability and productivity are controlled by the integrative effects of different management practices on the soil. Many Arkansas producers use the double-crop system to grow soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr] and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Studying combinations of different, non-traditional, alternative agricultural techniques may help producers better understand the long-term implications of various management practice options on sustainability and productivity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of agricultural management practices, including residue level, tillage, irrigation, and burning, and soil depth on the change in various soil properties from 2010 to 2020 in a long-term, wheat-soybean, double-crop system on a silt-loam soil (Glossaquic Fraglossudalfs) in eastern Arkansas. Soil nutrients tended to accumulate over time, the most in the top 10 cm, while soil nutrient contents in the 10- to 20-cm depth interval tended to not significantly change over time. Soil bulk density generally decreased across all treatments over time, particularly under no-tillage (NT)/non-burning (NB) management in the top 10 cm of the soil. Soil organic matter (SOM) content increased under all treatment combinations by 0.097 kg ha-1 yr-1 but numerically increased the most in the NT/NB treatment at the top 10 cm of the soil. Total carbon (TC) was 9.2 times greater, total nitrogen (TN) was 48 times greater, TC:SOM was three times greater, and TN:SOM was 3.7 times greater in the top 10 cm of the soil. Soil electrical conductivity was 1.5 times greater under conventional tillage and averaged across other treatment combinations. Soil pH was 1.9 times greater under irrigation than under non-irrigated treatments. Quantifying soil-property change over time will help producers to better understand the long-term effects of various residue and water management practices and to find reasonable, more sustainable alternative practices.

Keywords

agriculture; arkansas; tillage; irrigation; fertility; burning

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